portion

[ pawr-shuhn, pohr- ]

/ ˈpɔr ʃən, ˈpoʊr- /

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See synonyms for: portion / portions on Thesaurus.com

noun

a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it: I read a portion of the manuscript.

an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping: He took a large portion of spinach.

the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.

the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.

Literary. something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.

(especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.

verb (used with object)

to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed by out).

to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry: All of his children have been amply portioned.

to provide with a lot or fate: She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.

OTHER WORDS FOR portion

1 section, segment.

2 ration.

3 allotment, quota, lot, dividend.

4 inheritance.

5 fortune, lot, destiny, doom.

7 allot, apportion.

8 endow.

See synonyms for portion on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR portion

1 whole.

See antonyms for portion on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of portion

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō) “share, part,” akin to parspart

synonym study for portion

1. See part.

OTHER WORDS FROM portion

por·tion·a·ble, adjectivepor·tion·less, adjectivere·por·tion, verb (used with object)un·por·tion·a·ble, adjective

un·por·tioned, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH portion

portion , potion

Words nearby portion

porticoed, portiere, Porţile de Fier, Portinari, porting, portion, portion-controlled, portioner, Port Jackson, Port Jackson willow, Portland

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use portion in a sentence

It’s unclear how many students are actually doing the portions of PE that aren’t live-streamed.
Kids are shooting hoops with rolled up socks, but pandemic physical education is not canceled|Kelly Field|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
The services include selling ad inventory in the form of pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll ads around content while taking a portion of the earnings in a revenue share model.
How TheSoul Publishing grew revenue via platforms with viral social media life hacks|Kayleigh Barber|February 12, 2021|Digiday
She also noted a decline in the portion of residents answering contact tracers’ phone calls, which has dropped below 70 percent for the first time since September.
South Africa and U.K. coronavirus variants detected in D.C.; Maryland to open third mass vaccination site|Erin Cox, Julie Zauzmer, Rachel Chason|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
For example, RapidSOS stepped in to provide data when the Nashville bombing took out a portion of 911 infrastructure on Christmas Day, affecting 300 agencies.
RapidSOS raises $85M for a big data platform aimed at emergency responders|Ingrid Lunden|February 9, 2021|TechCrunch

You can even ski on Park Loop Road, portions of which are unplowed.
The Ultimate Acadia National Park Travel Guide|Virginia M. Wright|February 8, 2021|Outside Online
Counting encores, NBC estimated that over 44 million people had watched some portion of the production by the end of the month.
The Cast of ‘Peter Pan Live!’ Knows You Hatewatched ‘The Sound of Music’|Kevin Fallon|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the financing portion, the numbers are particularly bleak.
Millions Promised for Ebola Not Adding Up|Abby Haglage|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And its military destroyed a large portion of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.
Politics End In Halifax As Democratic and GOP Senators Seek Common Ground on National Security|Tim Mak|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2000, the Israeli government simply closed the portion of downtown Hebron under its control.
Inside Hebron, Israel’s Heart of Darkness|Michael Tomasky|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But they can win back a portion of it, and in many states and congressional districts, a portion will be enough to change things.
The Real Reason Democrats Lost|Michael Tomasky|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the upper part of the stem the whorls are very close together, but they are more widely separated at the lower portion.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
In the old world, poverty seemed, and poverty was, the natural and inevitable lot of the greater portion of mankind.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
There are many more good dwellings on this plain than in the rural portion of Lower Italy.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Turn not away thy face from thy neighbour, and of taking away a portion and not restoring.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
First of all, wrap a portion of damp newspaper round the roots, and then tie up with dry paper.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

British Dictionary definitions for portion

portion

/ (ˈpɔːʃən) /

noun

a part of a whole; fraction

a part allotted or belonging to a person or group

an amount of food served to one person; helping

law

a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents
the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry

a person's lot or destiny

verb (tr)

to divide up; share out

to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate

law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow

Derived forms of portion

portionless, adjective

Word Origin for portion

C13: via Old French from Latin portiō portion, allocation; related to pars part

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

portion

OTHER WORDS FOR portion

OPPOSITES FOR portion

Origin of portion

synonym study for portion

OTHER WORDS FROM portion

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH portion

Words nearby portion

Words related to portion

How to use portion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for portion

Derived forms of portion

Word Origin for portion